Apostrophe this!

August 11, 2003

I need confirmation from my beloved Grammar Avengers. Now that I’m done with grad work, I’m more of a Grammar Aficionado. I know the rules, and I’m annoyed when others break them. But I also know that in my own haphazard writing I break the rules or simply don’t notice that in haste I’ve used the wrong form of a word. Ugh. What was once unbearable is now almost acceptable. Laziness? Age? (At thirty-one, I can now say I’m in my mid-thirties. You think?)

But help me, please. I may be wrong.

In referring to grades received, it would be incorrect to say “I received all A’s.” Right? Shouldn’t it be “As,” without the apostrophe? Like “CDs for sale,” or “I’m in my mid 30s.”

In the new Harry Potter (god bless, I finished, what a ride), there are multiple references to Harry receiving D’s.

Am I mad? Am I flat-out wrong? Someone back me up. Every time I hit another sentence that had “D’s” in it, I had wild one-sided conversations with myself – no, her editors wouldn’t have let that happen, there must some kind of exception when it comes to letter grades, no, I know I’m right, it’s three in the morning, I could be wrong.

Grammar aside, I’ve started a new little sumpin-sumpin. Apparently addicted now to tanking, I’ve decided to cable another tank up. I’m going to make the bottom third in this simple cable pattern, with the top half remaining firmly ChicKami-esque, since I lurve that pattern. We’ll see.

And I leave you with a snap of Digit. He’s outside the window, in the barren window box (I planted a lettuce-seed sampler there, and got nothing but ugly looking spouts), crying for me to notice him. How could I not notice that face?

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Comments

‘Scuse me while I whip this out…”it” being Diana Hacker’s manual that I got for free cuz I teach writing, yo. Grammar Lady Di sez, “The apostrophe is often optional in plural numbers, abbreviations, letters, and words mentioned as words.” So both Ds and D’s are accepted usage. Yes, I had to look it up. I can never remember it either.
This is not to say that JKR’s editors haven’t missed other things.
I hate it when I re-read something I’ve posted and discover grammar gaffs.
I can’t wait to see how CableKami looks!

the number one rule of grammar is to never ever stick to a rule for a rule’s sake (which means this rule can be tossed, too, creating for me a cyclical cancelling-out problem that makes my brain hurt).
rules exist to impart consistency and clarity (the idea being that consistency helps with clarity). pick a form and stick with it. technically, the rule may say no apos without a possessive, but if no apos *creates* confusion and an apos aids clarity, break the rule. just break it consistently. I think JKR’s editors probably use the apos throughout, yes?

Rachael, I am as anti-apostrophe in that mis-usage as you! But I will note that the NYTimes uses it with the decades, i.e., 1990’s, I believe, and it always makes me cringe! The BabyKami is adorable and I don’t see the mocha. Are you a superfast knitter?

Whew! I KNEW I would get answers from y’all. And Em, thanks for the Hacker – I threw mine out with glee! (shoulda kept it, I can see now) I’m irritated it can go either way. But thrilled by the answers! Thanks!

I can’t let a grammar question go, even though it’s been answered adequately by my fellow Avengers. The Chicago Manual of Style (14th ed.) states that “So far as it can be done without confusion, single or multiple letters…form the plural by adding s alone” (6.16). Personally, I don’t find “Ds” to be confusing, and I wouldn’t use an apostrophe. Perhaps apostrophes are more common in British style? Of course, Brooke is right that the most important thing is consistency. (But “1990’s” is just so wrong!)

Sorry, but I believe all of you are wrong! (you also must be younger than 40)This is another one of those rules that have been bended (I believe due to laziness). Private schools in our area still teach the correct way with apostrophes. The Webster Universal Dictionary of 1936 states, “the apostrophe is used to mark the plural of letters, figures, or other characters; as, mind your p’s and q’s; several 2’s.” It seems that several rules have to changed to “it can be correct either way” – I think this is a crazy way of allowing laziness. People write so sloppy now, that often I have to read a sentence a couple of times for it to make sense.

Oops! Had a typo! Should have been ‘have been changed’. Also, you shouldn’t refer to newspapers for proper English usage. For one, there are tons of mistakes; and for two, journalism grammar rules are often different than proper English rule.

As an opinionated grammatician, I’m on your side — I do not use an apostrophe in phrases like “she got all As” or “she lived during the 1880s” — I agree that you should only use an apostrophe if you need it to avoid confusion.

Interesting. I disagree with the sentiment that language is static–that the correct way to write was established years ago so there’s no need for discussion. Language is constantly changing and rules should adapt accordingly. I do not think this should be called laziness. That said, I must be something of a traditionalist or at least easily confused because I use the apostrophe with dates and letters.